Hello!

Welcome to this week's devotional message!

Would you like to see our family's Christmas picture?  Little Jordan is wearing a red skip cap with a reindeer on it!  Click here for a photo of Jordan, Sarine and I: http://www.jcsm.org/Pictures/2002ChristmasPortrait.jpg.

Adam Clarke has written a commentary on the entire Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  As I do my research, I frequently use his works.  He is of the Wesleyan tradition, so I don't agree with every, single word he says (like his take on worship music and instruments and how they shouldn't be used in churches), however, he has some great insights and if you'd like to read his commentaries, please go here: http://www.godrules.net/commentary.html.

I've completed 42 of the books and commentaries from "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible".  Please pray that I continue working hard and finish this project by the end of the month! 

Smoking is a habit that effects millions of people.  In fact, millions of people have died and are dying of smoking.  Please pray that smokers will realize what they are doing to themselves and others and decide to quit.  If you'd like a Bible lesson on smoking, please go here: http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/smoking.htm.

God bless you as you grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior.  I hope you have peace this week, too.

If you're in London, come and see Delirious play at the Forum!  My wife and I will be there on December 19th.  Ticketmaster has tickets for a reasonable rate.

An interesting JCSM link: http://nkjv.org.  Do you need a web site?  We make them!  Please visit our link to see our rates.

This is your ministry, so please feel free to link to JCSM and forward these devotions to your friends and family. On the JCSM website, there are over 5000 links (pictures, forums, midis, Bible lessons, humor, proverbial stories, links, devotions, poetry, prayer journals and much more!) and it has registered over 95,000 visits!

JCSM has encouraging sermons and debates online that you can freely stream and download!  Come and hear them on SermonAudio.com!  Here is our site: http://www.sermonaudio.com/jcsm.

Welcome to the new readers of this message! Here are the devotions, challenge, moment of introspection, the Bible word of the week and the quotations for the week. Have a fantastic week and God bless you!

Love in Christ,

Jason J. Gastrich

The Weekly Devotional Message

Day 1: "The Death We Desire"

1 Corinthians 15:31  "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily."

Philippians 1:21  "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Romans 8:13  "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

Matthew 26:24-26  "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?'"

Insight: Remember that Christians are supposed to die to their sinful desires and live an abundant life.  Embrace the loss of things that hurt, corrupt and kill.  God knows what we need to leave behind and what we need to seek.  Open your hands, so He can remove what He wills and give what you need.

Prayer: "Thank you for helping us forget about the sinful desires of the past.  Thank you for changing our heart and desire.  Remind us of where we were and let us give thanks for where we are, now!  Thank you for being a great God and having our benefit in mind.  Give us more faith in You and help us trust You more.  Forgive our unbelief and foolishness.  Remind us of the things that we've surrendered to You and how it has made our life better.  Thank you for giving us your Word, so we can see what is best for us.  Help us to live biblical, godly lives - no matter what anybody else does.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 2: "Jesus' Invitations"

Matthew 4:19  "Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'"

Matthew 11:28-30  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Insight: Jesus invites you to follow Him.  Are there any other people that ask for your burdens?  Decided to follow Jesus and let your burdens go!

Prayer: "Thank you for seeking us, Lord.  Thank you for giving us a personal invitation to follow You!  There is no other God like You.  Praise You for giving us an exciting journey.  Forgive us for our sins.  Cleanse and purify us, Lord.  Let us see things like You do.  Help us to let go of our burdens.  Thank you for being a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  Help us to burden You first, instead of our other friends.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 3: "The 7 Spirits of the Lord"

Isaiah 11:2  "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."

Revelation 1:4b "Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne."

Revelation 4:5  "And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."

Zechariah 4:10  "For who has despised the day of small things?  For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth."

Revelation 5:6 "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth."

Insight: In the Hebrew tradition, they believe there are seven spirits of God that stay near His throne.  This is seen in their literature, but it is also seen throughout the Old and New Testaments.  They are sometimes called the "eyes of the Lord".  They surely demonstrate God's faithfulness and power.

Prayer: "

Day 4: "Are You Correctly Covered?"

Genesis 3:7, 21  "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. However, for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them."

1 Peter 4:8  "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'"

James 5:19  "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

Hebrews 9:22-28 "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."

Insight: There is one covering that covers our sins.  There is one sacrifice that is eternal.  This covering and atoning sacrifice is Jesus Christ.  Make sure you're covered!

Prayer: "Thank you for covering our sins, Lord.  Thank you for covering us and protecting us from the day of judgment.  Help us to trust and believe in You.  Help others to trust and believe, too!  Thank you for loving us so much.  Thank you for coming to Earth and dying on the cross for our sins.  Bless us, increase our ministry, lay your hand on us and keep us from evil.  Thank you for offering the one and only, perfect and eternal sacrifice.  Help the Jews to understand why no more sacrifices are necessary.  Thank you for being more than sufficient to remove our sins.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 5: "More Exciting Mysteries"

Jeremiah 33:3  "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Mark 16:20 "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen."

John 20:30, 31 "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

Revelation 10:4  "Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, 'Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.'”

1 Corinthians 4:1  "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."

Insight:  There are awesome things that God has done and will do that are not in the Bible.  He has kept them as mysteries.  We are stewards of the mysteries of God - the ones He has told us.  Be thankful for what we know and share it with others!

Prayer: "Thank you for telling us and showing us great things, Lord.  Reveal your plans to us.  Thank you for giving us your Word.  Help us to read it and understand it.  Thank you for having such a great, complete and perfect plan.  Forgive us for being apathetic or simply foolish.  Purify and sanctify us.  Let us see how we fit into your plan.  Help us to be catalysts and not stumbling blocks.  We love You, Lord.  May your kingdom come!  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 6: "The Tribulation Prophesied in the Old Testament"

Deuteronomy 4:30  "When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them."

Isaiah 26:20, 21 "Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain."

Isaiah 28:21  "For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon—That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act."

Jeremiah 30:7 "Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it."

Zephaniah 1:15-18 "That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse. Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD’S wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land."

Insight: Wouldn't it make sense that an all-knowing God would warn people about the tribulation?  Have peace in God's sovereignty because He has always known His plan of redemption and judgment.

Prayer: "Thank you for saving me, Lord!  Thank you for forgiving my sins and promising me eternal life.  Let every saved person take refuge in your promises.  Bless the unbelievers.  Bring them to saving faith, Lord.  Help people understand the depth of the depravity of sin.  Let us not make up cute euphemisms for sin, but realize and admit how dirty and evil it is.  Thank you for promising to judge sinners.  Let us judge ourselves and repent before judgment day.  Thank you for the coming tribulation and the large numbers of people that will be saved.  Let us be a light for your glory and let us do things that impact eternity, Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Day 7: "The 'G' Word"

Psalm 84:11  "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

Proverbs 3:34  "Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.  The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools."

John 1:16,17  "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 9:8  "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

Ephesians 2:8,9  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Ephesians 4:7  "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift."

Colossians 3:16  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

Colossians 4:6  "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

Hebrews 4:16  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Insight: One of the most popular topics of the New Testament is grace.  It has been said that GRACE is an acronym for: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  Be thankful for getting what you don't deserve; and for not getting what you do deserve!

Prayer: "Thank you for your grace, Lord.  Thank you for constantly giving us what we don't deserve.  Thank you for giving us the right and best things, too.  Help us understand how You have our best intentions in mind.  Forgive us for seeing your awesome provisions, then wondering if your gifts and blessings are best for us.  Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to show us the way and save us.  Thank you for the grace that has been extended to every individual.  Let us have grace with others, too.  Thank you for being our awesome example.  To You be all the glory, honor and praise, forever and ever.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Boycott Santa!

Why should we let an imaginary person take some of the glory away from Jesus Christ's birthday?  Even if you won't boycott Santa Claus, at least tell the truth about him to your friends, family and children.

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birthday.  We can already see people trying to take Christ out of Christmas, though.  The occasion has been shortened to "X-Mas".  Most employers now call it "Holiday" instead of Christmas, so they can be "politically correct", in case their employees don't celebrate Christmas.

This Christmas, my wife and I had to decide whether or not to raise our newborn daughter with the "Santa" tradition.  We decided against it because Santa is a myth and has nothing to do with the truth of Christmas.  Our decision wasn't made to keep Jordan from having fun, but it was made so that we all could celebrate a truthful Christmas based on our Lord Jesus Christ.  I guess she'll be the one telling her classmates that Santa isn't real!

Take back Christmas and keep it special because it's about our Savior's birth!  God bless you as you meet this week's challenge!

heart: lebab - heart, courage, etc.

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